Shoe heel



VJuly 23, 41935. J F. ESTRSON 2,009,082

` SHOE HEEL Filed June 1, 1932 INVEH TOR Jac/r E fserson H TTORHEY.

Patented July 23, 1935 UNITED STATES' 2,009,082 SHOE HEEL Jack- F. Esters'on, laltnora'ld.

Application .T-n I; 1932, Seal N0. 614,819

v 7 Claims.

My invention relates to apparatus for and methods of removably interlocking a mai'n and a replaceable heel section, and more particularly,

to novel apparatus for and methods of mechani- 51 cally interlocking lifts to the main' body of the It has' been proposed to mechanically interlock lif-ts with heel Vsections by mechanical members. These' h'ave' never gone intofpractical' use, however, b'e'cause the complexity of the mechanism required'f special skillI v'and tools to engage and disengage` the members; they required varied sizes" aindf sl'ialpes'A to fit' the nmerous sizes and shapes of heel sections making the costs prohibitive;` theyutlizedgroove tting, requiring extreme precision in the manufacture, or they were loosely tted permitting movements of one section with respect to the other resulting in strains and` accordingly, in a likelihood of acci- 20l dental separations' of the sections; they did not permit ai snug i'l-t between the main section of the heel andthe lift; they required the exposure of considerable metal", making the heel unsightly and they failedl to takel cognizance of the main stresses' and strains occurring in the normal walking postures of the wearer, resul-ting in acci'- dental separa-tion of the lift from the heel section.

Accordingly, an object of my invention is to provide mechanical interlocking means overcoming' these objections.

A' further object of my invention is to provide novel mechanical interlocking means for shoe lifts which are independent of the size and shape of the heel.

A further objectl of my invention is to provide novel means for firmly pressingl the engaging surface' of theV lift' against the engaging surface of the'heel, particularly sealing its edges against the admission of'foreign matter.

Still a. further object of my invention is'Y to provide novel mechanical interlocking means for a lift which are' not visible and which are contained wholly Within the edges of the heel members.

Still another object of my invention is to provide novel mechanical interlocking means requiring substantially no precision of parts.

,As the foot is lifted and brought forward and 5'01 upward inl walking, the heel may encounter an obstruction. This impact with the obstruction ordinarily occursat the breast ofthev heel and in'striking: the lifthas, with constructions here- A tofore proposed; separated' the lift from the mainl 55% heel section. I1 have d'scoveredlthat I can mount' the lift so that it cannot be removed in the direction of movement of the Walker.

lliccordin'gly,` a; further object of my invention is to' provide novel mechanicalv means forv preventing separation between the lheel and lift in '5' -th'e Walking direction. I

A further object of my invention is to provide` novel locking meansfwhieh will automatically in# crease its locking eect when an object normally tending' to disenga'ge the lift is encountereds There are other objects of my invention which together With-the foregoing will' appear dnl-the detailed descriptionof the-invention to follf'w'v.'v

Figure 1 isa perspective vievv of a?)gireierr'edv form o'f my'inventi'on. Y f.- -5 15 Figure'2 is a developed view of the'lift member. FigureS isa' developed view of the heel member. Figure 4 is a cross section through 4'4"of Figure 1.

-Figure Fig'ure'fi.

Figure 6 is a: cross Figure 4. v l y.

Figure 7 is a perspective' view of a modiied form of my invention. 4 2-5 Asshown' in Fig. 1, the main heel section l' carries on its surface 2, a member 3. Member 3 consists of any materiall preferably a metal hav-- ing the proper tensile and mechanical strengths i for securely interlocking the heel section I- Withf" a lift to be described hereinafter. The'.metal' preferably usedl is an annealed clockspring steelof high carbon" content. The member is first formed in the shape to be described and there'- after temperedto give itv the desired permanent 3'5' spring action' and durability. I Y y The entire member 3' isv contained' within the edges of the heel section-to which it is' secured by prongs 4 integral with the" member 3 or anyl other suitable means. Prongs' Il' are driven'- into 45 the section l by a pressing operation. Extend' ing along the central portion of the' member 3 from its rear endtowards its front end, theni'em' be'r has been embossed as at 5 to'a height tobe described' hereinafter to form a pocket with: the 4'5" sr'face 2 for the purpose t'o be described here` inaft'er. The rear end' of the member 3 isrc'utaway to forni sloping edges extending from the" open endof -the pocket as shown at 6 and 1.

The two opposite outer symmetrical ends of 50 the' edge of member 3 are turned up a's at 8and 9; Intermediate these turned-up edges 8 and 9r an' integral right angle bend or flange HI fits over the breast' portion Il ofthe main section I. This right angle bend I0 is of a predetermined 55' 5 is a cross' section through' L5' of 2b' section through ofhowever, by the cut away portion which in turn i The lift is countersunk at 26 from the edge of the metal between the flanges 23 and 24 to the breast length to provide an automatic means for properly placing the member 3 on the surface 2 between the breast and opposite edge of the heel.

Member 3 functions, as will be described, to secure heel section I to the lift I2. The lift I2 is countersunk on its contacting surface I3 with the heel section I to a depth of the overall thickness of all the metal lying between section I and lift I2 which, in the present illustration, is approximately two thicknesses of the member 3. Secured in the countersunk area I4 is a member I5 preferably of the same size, material and gauge as member 3 and fitting snugly into the depression I4. A section I6 of the member I5 has been removed, the size and shape of this removed section being substantially equal to the size and shape of the embossed section 5 and forming a receptacle therefor as will appear hereinafter.

Extending from the end I1, there is a tongue I8 integral with the member I5. As shown, the tongue I8 is turned on itself at II' along the full width of member I5 to form a re-entrant section, the tongue extending above the cut away portion I6 and being of the proper length, width and shape to ll in and snugly fit the pocket formed by the embossed section 5. The tongue I8 and the corresponding embossed pocket 5 is made suiiciently long to give the maximum leverage or bearing surface. The limits are determined,

is 4limited to insure necessary strength at I9 in the member I5. At the turned end II of the member I5, sloping shoulders 2I and 22 are provided. The size and shape of shoulders ZI and 22 are designed to engage the corresponding edges 6 and 'I of the member 3 when members 3 and. I5 are interlocked.

At the front end of the member I5, two symmetrically turned up flanges 23 and 24 are provided which are arranged to engage with the raised edges 8 and 9 of members 3. The width between the turned up flanges 23 and 24 is equal to the width of theianges I0 and which is equal to the separation of the turned up ends 8 and 9.

edge of the lift to a, depth and width corresponding to the shape and thickness of the ange III to provide a tight fitting edge at this point. The.

` means, it will be understood that any other suitable means such as nails may be used.

In order to attach the lift I2 to the main heel section I, the lift I2 is placed with its engaging face in opposing relation with the surface 2 of the heel section I and the rear end of the member 3 disposed in advance of the breast edge of the lift. The tongue I8 is inserted in the open end of the pocket 5. The lift is now moved forward, the tongue sliding into place in the pocket and guiding the forward movement of the lift until the breast end of the lift I2 is in alignment with the breast end of the main heel section I.

At this point, the shoulders 2I and 22 of the lift member I5 are in bearing engagement with the corresponding edges 6 and I of member 3 and the forward movement of the lift has, accordingly, been automatically brought to a stop when the breast edges of main section and lift are in alignment.

The sides 28 and 29 on the lift member I5 extending from shoulders 2I and 22 to iianges 23 and 24 are now juxtaposed above sides 3l and 32 of member 3. The cut-away portion I6 of the lift member I5 is now occupied by the embossing of member 3 and the tongue I8 fits snugly in the pocket 5.

The yieldable anges 23 and 24 are juxtaposed and above the corresponding iianges 8 and 9. To lock the members, the lift is pressed firmly against themain section. fFlanges 23 and 24 yield under` the' pressure and roll ovr'and under the edges of ilanges 8 and 9 respectively with a snap action to lock the members in place.

It will be noted that all of the metal lies Within the depression formed in the lift I2, the metal being evenly distributed so that there are just two layers of metal at each point. The height to which member 3 is embossed is equal to the thickness of the tongue I8. Flanges 23 and 24 extend approximately to the surface of the lift.

With ythe members interlocked, if a foreign body should impact with the lift, as the shoe is being raised andv moved forward in walking, the force exerted on the lift will merely force the flanges 23 and 24 into more rm engagement with edges..8 and 9. Should the lift be accidentally loosened, it would still be necessary to raise the lift sufficiently to clear the embossing and vthen move it backward until `the tongue en tirely clears the pocket. Ordinarily, however, if the lockis opened the wearer, on the next step, will press the members into locking vengagement again. 1

To unlock the lift from theheel, any suitable tool is inserted in the countersunk portion 26 and the lift member is sprung until the flanges 23 and 24 slip over and away from edges Band 9. The lift is then raised to clear the embossing and may then be removedby sliding the lift backward until the tongue clears the pocket.

It will be noted that with this construction, wide tolerances in the thickness of metal used is permissible since each thickness of metal is compensated for by proper depth of the countersunk sections.

The precision necessary with fiange constructions along the edges is avoided since no equivalent iiange constructions are used. The pocket 5 which takes the place of the flange is centrally located and accordingly, one of the most serious difficulties is overcome. When guiding flanges along the edge of the lift are used, the cover material used on the main heel section and extending along the surface edge of the section lls into the groove formed by the anges and interferes with the operation of the locking member inthe groove. The pocket in my construction is made with the central or wood portion of the heel section and facilitates operation since there is no interfering matter. Furthermore, the tongue vin my construction can more:

readily be inserted in the pocket than in constructions where two or more grooves must be simultaneously contacted.

It should be further noted that the rear portion of the met-al on the main section is protected from the lift by the metal on the lift. Accordingly, should the lift be worn completely until metal is exposed, the metal on the lift protects the metal on the heel.

'I'he construction of the metal entirely within the edges of the lift and heel insures a tight t of the lift and heel along the edges and thus prevents the admission of any foreign matter.

6. In combinationg'a main heel section having a Iregular symmetricallypositioned member of uniform thickness secured thereto and a replace'- able heel section having a-regular symmetrically positioned member of uniform thickness secured 'thereto of 'substantiallythe same size and shape as said rst mentioned member, vthe engaging 'surfaces of said membersbeing arranged to pro- 'vide asubstantially uniform thickness'throughout the overlapping andengagingfportins of said members', oneof said sections being countersunk to-a depthfsuicient to compensate 4'for the thickness of the metal lying between the-two sections, the member of-"said vone section.' being 'secured Within said countersunk portion and having yieldable ange means along one of its edges, the corresponding edge of the other mem- -ber being raised to provide an engaging edge for and said members vare in interlocking engagement.- j

7. In' combination, a main heel section having a regular symmetrically positioned member of uniform thickness secured thereto and a replaceable heel section having a regular symmetrically positioned member of uniform thickness secured -thereto of substantially the saine size land shape as said first mentioned member, the engaging surfaces of said members being arranged to provide a substantially uniform thickness throughout the overlapping and engaging portions of said members, oneof said sections being countersunk to a depthsufcient to compensate for the thickness of the metal lying between the two sections, the member of said one section being secured Within said countersunk portion and having yieldable flange means along one of its edges, the corresponding edge of the other member being raised to provide an engaging edge for said flange means, the one member having its inner portion removed and being provided with an integral tongue turned back above said cut away portion, the other member being `provided with a pocket, said tongue being of substantially the same size and shape as said pocket whereby said pocket provides a snug t for said tongue, and said members are in interlocking engagement, said tongue having sloping shoulders and said other Ymember having cut away 'edges corresponding to l and bearing against said-shoulders. y i JACK F.ESTERSON. 

